– Spoiler Review –
In Darth Vader #29 (Vol. 3), the handmaidens come to rescue one of their own from Darth Vader’s influence, but nothing is as simple as it seems.
And when I say nothing is as simple as it seems, it’s just par for the course with Greg Pak’s Darth Vader run. For most of her return to the series, Sabé and her growing influence on Vader and his actions has taken center stage and it often hasn’t felt like it’s worked both ways, until she’s brought in front of the Emperor (her advice to Vader) and put through a simple test. By the end of last issue, it still didn’t feel like much had changed, as she declined to slaughter some pirates knowing they could get important information if kept alive. By the end of this issue, maybe something has taken hold, as she ends up assassinating the revolutionary she was sent by Vader to take care of. It feels like a bit of a disconnect from what we’ve seen, while focusing more so on Dormé and Ochi doesn’t give us a chance to have much time with Sabé before she fulfills her mission. As I said last issue, I can only imagine the way this series would’ve shaken out if she’d been the focus this whole time, considering how much Vader content we’ve already gotten, and I’m beginning to feel those sentiments more acutely as her time on the series continues. She very easily might not have killed her target, especially since the solicitations for upcoming issues seem to hint that’s the case, so she might not have changed as much as this issue would like us to think, so getting less into her head allows that potential twist to hit but it still feels like she deserves a little more going forward.
Elsewhere, as I mentioned already, Dormé and Ochi take up another part of the story, with his compliance gained in the handmaidens’ mission to rescue Sabé because he wants her out of his and Vader’s lives as well. It was neat to see another handmaiden in action, using their similarities to their advantage to easily infiltrate Sabé’s position in the Empire, but the ruse has its first big test when Vader summons “Sabé.” Before they meet, investigating Sabé’s room doesn’t turn up much hints for Dormé or Ochi to locate and track her down, though an interrogation of Sabé’s personal stormtrooper guards gives them her target’s name: Jul Tambor. Also in the room is a piece of armor Vader gave Sabé, which I don’t quite know when they had the time to do so, maybe after the throne room sequence last issue, that Dormé seems to take as her not being under Vader’s influence since she left it, but she was told by him to go undercover so the helmet wouldn’t have helped anyways. Then we get a scene of Ochi retelling the events Sabé’s caused since she’s returned, though not in a totally truthful manner, so it continues to muddy some events or the whole Governor Tauntaza’s true allegiance aspect of the story to the point I’m going to just leave it all in the past and focus on the present instead now to continue enjoying the handmaidens return. When Dormé arrives for Vader’s summons, she faces a big test for her, but probably not for Sabé: kill the two stormtroopers who she interrogated, saying them blabbering about Sabé’s mission in public had compromised it. She hesitates and Vader admonishes them for not doing anything, so a tussle ensues and she gets the blaster, injuring them but not killing them. Vader already suspected Dormé’s true identity but this choice, considering how Sabé has reacted to moments in the past, is what confirms it for him. In the issue itself, we see him taunting Dormé about how much Sabé has changed followed by the final page of Sabé standing over Jul Tambor’s seemingly dead body. With two handmaidens in Vader’s clutches, one willingly and maybe teetering over the edge, you know the remaining handmaidens aren’t going to wait around any longer to make their move.
As for Jul Tambor, the grandson of Wat Tambor, he’s trying to win back Skako Minor from the Imperial loyalists controlling the planet currently. He plans this from Brentaal IV, where many Skakoian refugees reside, some who blame him for their current situation and others who look up to him for help and freedom. He claims the pirates we saw last issue, in fact everything we learned about him from the Empire, isn’t true, they were just taking advantage of the situation and not acting on his orders, and I’m not sure who to trust at this point. I’m going to believe Jul for now, though I’m sure it’ll fall somewhere in between, but considering how things ended with explanations for Tuantaza, part of me wonders if it matters much who is right. The biggest reason I believe Jul comes from how he’s trying to help refugees by making breathers for them since the Empire has outlawed the exportation of the technology, making it next to impossible for Skakoians to live anywhere else, making it harder for them to flee the planet or ferment rebellion. He reveals this as his reason for starting the war with the Empire to Sabé, who I guess and have to assume between this and the last issue infiltrated the pirates and tracked Jul down to this planet per her orders from Vader, after she saves him from a Droid Crush assassination attempt (which she may or may not have orchestrated). He tries to convince Sabé this is enough for his actions, though while Jul’s trying to save his people, he has an ulterior motive: revenge for his grandfather and father, whom Vader killed, then installed the Imperial loyal government that’s put his people in this situation. See, Jul already knows Sabé’s working for Vader, thanks to a reconstructed Gee-Ninety (who was sliced in two by Vader in issue #21 and sure, I guess, welcome back), but he’s still trying to convince her of his ability to make it happen and for her to help him. She’s seen how trying to kill Vader goes, the death of the Amidalan movement beyond the handmaidens, so she keeps fighting his insistence he’ll be successful, eventually drawing her weapon to make a point…and then we end up with a heaping pile of Jul on the ground. If Dormé knows how to shoot and not kill, I imagine Sabé did the same here, maybe to help make Jul listen to her…or it’s all part of the coming show she might be putting on to use him to help her in whatever goal she has next, even if it’s killing Vader again.
Series regular artist Raffael Ienco bows out for awhile on the series and Luke Ross, alongside colorist Federico Blee, takes over, while letterer Joe Caramagna remains. Ross’ work is something I’ve really come to be a fan of over the past several years of his various contributions (especially the Darth Maul miniseries and Age of Republic – Villains issues) and his takeover of the series is a welcomed one, proving himself already a worthy successor to Ienco. If you noticed a pattern with Ross’ previous work I enjoyed, it revolves around villains, so he’s well-suited for the job. As menacingly Ienco could draw Vader, Ross finds similar ways to make the Dark Lord frightening, be it having his back to Dormé when she enters the room, his lightsaber drawn, his blade illuminating the wall before him and casting shadows elsewhere, or I particularly liked the deep shadows on his mask in a closeup, Blee dancing around them with his colors to make it all still visible where it intimidatingly counts. And then there’s Jul Tambor, a Skakoian with legs for once, who looks heroic with his cape and gleaming, gold outfit (which is where you can see he comes from a family that’s had money), but the red eyes, which Ross focuses on in several panels, adds a chilling edge to the character, like there’s a darker aspect to him hiding under the surface; he is, after all, motivated by revenge. I think overall one of the best aspects is how much visual consistency there is, as often a new artist has a drastic style compared to the one before them, but Ross and Ienco are rather complimentary. Caramagna continuing on means the usual lettering goodness is still here. I liked how he also broke the panel with his SFX for the rocket launcher when its explosive does, while the little “boot” when Jul kicks a Droid Crush head is perfectly sized as dismissive as the kick looks and feels. I also liked the colors and lettering combo when Dormé is shooting the troopers, the red exposing the violence of the moment and the SFX the same color, making it seem as violent as the colors want you (and Vader) to believe, but the show isn’t good enough for Vader.
Here is one other thing:
- I think my biggest question with this issue since Hidden Empire has started and the Revelations one-shot came out…where and how does this series fit into those events? There’s time between issues, of course, but not even a cursory mention makes this feel completely divorced from the larger events, which is a little odd, so hopefully we get some better cohesion going forward.
Darth Vader #29 (Vol. 3) finds the fight for Sabé’s soul heating up.
+ Confrontation brewing for Sabé’s soul
+Ross and team fine successors on art
– Need more time with Sabé
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
DARTH VADER (VOL. 3)
Dark Heart of the Sith: #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 / Arc Review — Into the Fire: #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 | #11 / Arc Review — War of the Bounty Hunters: #12 | #13 | #14 | #15 | #16 | #17 — Crimson Reign: #18 | #19 | #20 | #21 | #22 — The Shadow’s Shadow: #23 | #24 | #25 | #26 | #27 | #28